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I think my computer is on the brink of dying due to something horrible invading it.
Symptoms are:

1] Bleeping at me constantly and loudly (go to bed with the sound ringing in my ears)

2] Constantly switching itself off (this does not occur when doing mundane things like emails or word etc, only when burning CDs or when scanning or something like that)

3] I have read a few related topics and from the information given, i have downloaded spysweeper and spybot. I get really excited that these programmes might be able to give me a hint of what could be wrong but on both programmes, within 20 seconds of scanning, my computer just switches off. On spysweeper, just before it switched off, it found trojan-backdoor-5sec and something else but i couldnt get the other one. I think it has so much more to scan but comp just dies on me within seconds.

4] I have noticed a few changes and have no clue how they appeared
1] I have a shortcut for fotomat on my desktop - it is not listed on my add/remove programmes in control panel
2] I have this viewpoint bar thing underneath my address bar
3] In control panel/phones and modems, i go to modem tab and no modem is detected?? I have 6 listed but none present??

I took your advice and tried spysweeper and then spybot S&D in safe mode. Each time they progressed alot further in safe mode but just before it finishes the computer shuts off again. I have tried this 6 times now and it just wont complete.

My system is Windows xp home edition version 5.1
My internet explorer is version 6.0

If your machine is constantly shutting down/restarting, it could be viral related or could be due to hardware or overheating problems caused by a failed processor fan, bad memory (RAM), failing power supply, underpowered power supply, CPU overheating, motherboard, video card, drivers, dirty hardware, etc.

If you can complete those, then download and scan with DrWeb-CureIt. Follow the instructions here and see if you are able to complete the scan.

If your not finding any malware then its sounds like the latter problem. When was the last time you cleaned the inside of your computer? Dust restricts the airflow and prevents proper cooling. This in turn can cause overheating and faulty processor fans which can result in unexpected shutdowns, random restarts, booting problems, etc. Open your machine and make sure the fans are working and the heat sink on the processor is not blocked with dust or debris. Remove the CPU's cooling unit and clean the fins on the heat sink that sits under the CPU with a can of compressed air. You can also remove the cards, RAM modules, clean the contacts and reseat them. Check your connections and fans to make sure they are working properly and monitor the temperature. If the computer is overheating, it usually begins to restart on a more regular basis. See "Cleaning the Interior of your PC" and the "Illustrated How to Replace an AGP Video Card" (you can also use it as a guide to clean & reseat).

In Windows XP, the default setting is for the computer to reboot automatically when a fatal error occurs. You should be able to see the error by looking in the Event Log. An alternative is to turn off the automatic reboot so you can actually see the error code/STOP Message when it happens - this is also known as the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD).

To change the recovery settings and Disable Automatic Rebooting, do this: 1. Right-click on My Computer and select Properties > Advanced tab.2. Under "Startup and Recovery" click on the "Settings" button and go to "System failure".3. Make sure "Write an event to the system log" is checkedand that "Automatically restart" is UNchecked.4. Click "OK" and reboot for the changes to take effect.